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Publications

Publications are the cornerstone of the Pennsylvania Water Science Center’s dissemination of scientific data and conclusions. 

Filter Total Items: 968

Long-term impacts of impervious surface cover change and roadway deicing agent application on chloride concentrations in exurban and suburban watersheds Long-term impacts of impervious surface cover change and roadway deicing agent application on chloride concentrations in exurban and suburban watersheds

Roadway deicing agents, including rock salt and brine containing NaCl, have had a profound impact on the water quality and aquatic health of rivers and streams in urbanized areas with temperate climates. Yet, few studies evaluate impacts to watersheds characterized by relatively low impervious surface cover (ISC; 15 %). Here, we use long-term (1997-2019), monthly streamwater quality data...
Authors
Marissa L. Rossi, Peleg Kremer, Charles A. Cravotta, Krista E. Scheirer, Steven T. Goldsmith

Groundwater quality in selected Stream Valley aquifers, eastern United States Groundwater quality in selected Stream Valley aquifers, eastern United States

Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water (Burow and Belitz, 2014). The stream-valley aquifers constitute one of the important aquifer systems being...
Authors
James A. Kingsbury

Effects of return flows on stream water quality and availability in the Upper Colorado, Delaware, and Illinois River Basins Effects of return flows on stream water quality and availability in the Upper Colorado, Delaware, and Illinois River Basins

Understanding effects of human water use and subsequent return flows on the availability and suitability of water for downstream uses is critical to efficient and effective watershed management. We compared spatially detailed estimates of stream chemistry within three watersheds in diverse settings to available standards to isolate effects of wastewater and irrigation return flows on the
Authors
Scott Ator, Olivia L. Miller, David A. Saad

Genome-wide genetic diversity may help identify fine-scale genetic structure among lake whitefish spawning groups in Lake Erie Genome-wide genetic diversity may help identify fine-scale genetic structure among lake whitefish spawning groups in Lake Erie

In Lake Erie, lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis supported lucrative fisheries before populations were decimated by overfishing and water quality degradation. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in lake whitefish and management of the fishery they support. Lake whitefish spawn on several reefs throughout Lake Erie, but the relative recruitment dynamics and contributions...
Authors
Peter T. Euclide, Joseph Schmitt, Richard Kraus, Andy Cook, Jim Markham

Thirteen novel ideas and underutilized resources to support progress towards a range-wide American eel stock assessment Thirteen novel ideas and underutilized resources to support progress towards a range-wide American eel stock assessment

A robust assessment of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) stock, required to guide conservation efforts, is challenged by the species’ vast range, high variability in demographic parameters and data inadequacies. Novel ideas and underutilised resources that may assist both analytic assessments and spatially oriented modelling include (1) species and environmental databases; (2) mining...
Authors
David K. Cairns, Jose Benchetrit, Louis Bernatchez, Virginie Bornarel, John M. Casselman, Martin Castonguay, Anthony Charsley, Malte Dorrow, Hilaire Drouineau, Jens Frankowski, Alexander Haro, Simon Hoyle, D. Craig Knickle, Marten A. Koops, Luke A. Poirier, James T. Thorson, John A. Young, Xinhua Zhu

Streambank and floodplain geomorphic change and contribution to watershed material budgets Streambank and floodplain geomorphic change and contribution to watershed material budgets

Stream geomorphic change is highly spatially variable but critical to landform evolution, human infrastructure, habitat, and watershed pollutant transport. However, measurements and process models of streambank erosion and floodplain deposition and resulting sediment fluxes are currently insufficient to predict these rates in all perennial streams over large regions. Here we measured...
Authors
Gregory E. Noe, Kristina G. Hopkins, Peter Claggett, Edward R. Schenk, Marina J. Metes, Labeeb Ahmed, Thomas Rossiter Doody, Cliff R. Hupp

Compilation and evaluation of data used to identify groundwater sources under the direct influence of surface water in Pennsylvania Compilation and evaluation of data used to identify groundwater sources under the direct influence of surface water in Pennsylvania

A study was conducted to compile and evaluate data used to identify groundwater sources that are under the direct influence of surface water (GUDI) in Pennsylvania. In the early 1990s, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) implemented the Surface Water Identification Protocol (SWIP) for the identification of GUDI sources. Since the establishment of the SWIP...
Authors
Eliza L. Gross, Matthew D. Conlon, Dennis W. Risser, Chad E. Reisch

Pennsylvania and Landsat Pennsylvania and Landsat

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania straddles an array of landscapes. From east to west, its 46,055 square miles connect the sea-level lowlands of the Atlantic seaboard with the rolling hills of the Midwest. It also acts as a bridge between regions from north to south, with the Appalachian Mountains swooping through its center from its northern border with New York to its southern borders...
Authors

Water priorities for the Nation—U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Prediction science program Water priorities for the Nation—U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Prediction science program

The U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Prediction science program focuses on the development of advanced models for forecasting water use and other components of the water cycle along with water quality attributes such as temperature, water constituents, and ecological conditions. The program also is developing the cyberinfrastructure required to implement national and local-scale...
Authors
Mark P. Miller, Katherine Skalak, David P. Lesmes

Power analysis for detecting the effects of best management practices on reducing nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA Power analysis for detecting the effects of best management practices on reducing nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

In 2010 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) which is a “pollution diet” that aims to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, by 25 and 24% percent, respectively. To achieve this goal the TMDL requires the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs)...
Authors
Paul McLaughlin, Richard Alexander, Joel D. Blomquist, Olivia H. Devereux, Gregory E. Noe, Tyler Wagner, Kelly L. Smalling

Pollutant co-attenuation via in-stream interactions between mine drainage and municipal wastewater Pollutant co-attenuation via in-stream interactions between mine drainage and municipal wastewater

Municipal wastewater (MWW) and mine drainage (MD) are common co-occurring sources of freshwater pollution in mining regions. The physicochemical interactions that occur after mixing MWW and MD in a waterway may improve downstream water quality of an impaired reach by reducing downstream concentrations of nutrients and metals (i.e., “co-attenuation”). A first-order stream (Bradley Run in...
Authors
Charles J. Spellman, Peter M. Smyntek, Charles A. Cravotta, Travis L. Tasker, William H. J. Strosnider

Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2011–November 30, 2012 Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2011–November 30, 2012

A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New York City, to be made under the supervision and direction of the River...
Authors
Vincent J. DiFrenna, William J. Andrews, Kendra L. Russell, J. Michael Norris, Mason
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